The Man Who Can't Be Moved
by SirEvy
Summary: "People started gathering around him somewhere during the third day, some encouraging him on, while others scoffed at how ridiculously stubborn he was. But Teddy didn't care. His stubbornness was had gotten him here in the first place and perhaps, it would be the very thing that would get him out of this mess.' Please R&R!


**_A/N:_**_ Well, this story just came to me suddenly, after hearing this song again and I immediately thought about Teddy and Lily, because I absolutely love that pairing and I just feel like there isn't enough of them. Anyway, I'm pretty sure no one ever reads this, so I'll just shut up. On with the story!_

_**Disclaimer: **The day I own Harry Potter will be the day I become queen of England. Which would be never.  
_

* * *

**The Man Who Can't Be Moved**

He doesn't know how he ended up here, of all places.

Normally, when a person returns after almost a month of being away on a dangerous Auror mission, they go home to sleep in their own bed or at least go straight to visit their family.

Of course, Teddy Lupin isn't normal.

He is sitting on his luggage, at the corner of a Muggle street—_their_ corner.

If he tries hard enough, he can almost see her standing in front of him, her crimson curls whipping wildly around her face in the chilly, winter breeze, giving him that half-smile he loves so much.

A Muggle car honks out in the distance, breaking the spell. Teddy sighs, placing his head in his hands, letting his mind wander back to the day when he had first seen _her_.

* * *

_**June 2024**_

"_Teddy?" a familiar voice asked behind him._

_At the sound of her voice, Teddy spun around, half-expecting to see the little chubby-cheeked girl who used to follow him around in frilly pink dresses standing there, although he knows she hasn't worn those dresses since she was nine. What he doesn't expect is to see the amazingly gorgeous woman with green eyes and crimson curls and slight curves standing in her place, giving him a smile that made him catch his breath._

_He blinked once, twice, thinking it's just a trick of the light. But it's not. Lily, his lovely, little Lily Luna, who used to be his best-friend until she left for her fifth-year at Hogwarts and he had accepted an Auror mission in Brazil that had kept him away from home for three years, is still standing there, looking up at him, her joy reflected in her almond-shaped eyes._

"_Lily?" he asked, still not really trusting his eyes, because his Lily looked nothing like __that__ when he had last seen her, almost three years ago._

_She nodded, her green eyes never leaving his. "Merlin, I can't believe it's you, Ted. Rosie said you were in town—" at this she looked to the redheaded Weasley standing next to her, who gave him a look he couldn't quite decipher, "—and I just can't believe you're really here. I've missed you, Teddy," she said, her grin growing wider by the second._

_She ran to him before he had time to do more than blink, throwing her arms around his waist as she hugged him tightly. Automatically, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him._

"_I've missed you, too, Lil," he said, taking in her honey, sun-kissed fragrance and he can't believe how much he means it. _

"_I can't believe you actually kept away for so long," she said as she pulled away and, for some strange reason, Teddy couldn't help but miss her already, even if she was still standing right in front of him. "And taking that stupid Auror mission in Brazil, no less."_

"_It's not like anybody here missed me much," Teddy said, not being able to keep the resentful tone out of his voice. But, it was true. His parents were dead and his long-term girlfriend had broken up with him three-years ago, when she realised she didn't love him anymore._

_Lily's grin disappeared, her expression serious as the creases he would come to love appeared on her forehead—the ones that meant she was frustrated or worried or thinking very hard about something. _

"_Don't say that, Ted. You have a lot of people who worry about you and who love you."_

_Teddy laughed, almost mockingly as he shifted his weight, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah. Like who?"_

_Lily looked at him, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips as she arched an eyebrow. _

"_Me," was all she said, before turning her heel and pulling Rose into the muggle café Teddy hadn't noticed before, leaving him standing there, looking stupidly after her._

* * *

Teddy yawns, stretching his stiff muscles, when he senses somebody's presence next to him. He turns quickly, half-expecting it to be _her_, even though he's only been here for three hours and there is no way she'd know he's waiting for her here—yet.

"What are you doing out here, son?" an elderly woman asks, and Teddy recognises her as being the owner of the Muggle café he's sitting in front of.

He considers her question for a moment—despite his being a Gryffindor, this has got to be the most daring thing Teddy has ever done in his life.

But, why is he doing it?

And then, a memory pops into his mind an he knows exactly why he's doing it.

"I'm waiting for the woman I love," is all he says.

* * *

_**August 2024**_

_He walked around nervously, greeting the family he didn't know had missed him. He only half listened as James chided him for not coming sooner, too preoccupied with finding a certain redhead._

_He had debated with himself whether it would be a good idea to come to her seventeenth birthday, when Scorpius, of all people, had shown up in his doorstep and refused to leave until Teddy came with him—per Rose's orders, of course. He had even promised him Victoire wouldn't be there, seeing as she was in France, on honeymoon with her new husband, perhaps thinking that was the reason Teddy was so doubtful about returning to the house in which he had spent countless summers in._

_But it wasn't Victoire he was worried about seeing._

_He hadn't seen Lily since that day, two months prior; perhaps that was why he had put off coming to see her family—his family for so long. He didn't know what she had meant—or if she had meant anything at all, and that made him feel nervous, for some odd reason. _

_He heard laughter around him, snapping him out of reverie and he joined in, not really knowing what he was laughing at as he scanned the garden once more. _

_And then, he saw her, their eyes locking for a brief moment and Teddy held his breath._

_The garden became eerily silent as Lily exited the house, looking as beautiful as ever in her gold, sparkly dress, her crimson curls pulled up in a loose bun on top of her head. The garden suddenly erupted in cheers of delight as someone started singing a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' _

"_Can you believe it?" James called out, looking proud and happy as Teddy felt his feet move of their own accord, parting through her large family to get to her. "My little sister—all grown up." _

_Lily laughed, as Harry reached down, placing a birthday tiara on her carefully arranged hair, before pressing a kiss to her forehead. She turned to look at him then, her smile wide, speaking of untold promises and sheer joy. _

"_May I have this dance?" he found himself asking and Lily bit her lip, nodding as she took his hand._

_And he lead her into a slow waltz, taking notice of the way she seemed to melt perfectly against him, of the proximity of their bodies as she looked up at him. He felt as if everyone and everything around them melted away, until it was just the two of them. The world could be burning around them, for all he cared and Teddy couldn't think of a time where he had felt like this, of when something just felt so perfect and natural. The song ended and Albus walked up to him, tapping his shoulder and the spell was broken._

"_Mind if I steal her away from you, mate?" he asked, grinning at him and Teddy nodded reluctantly as he handed her over to her brother, trying to ignore the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach._

_Although they hadn't spoken for the remainder of the night, Lily's eyes had never left him once._

_He knew, because his eyes had never left Lily, either._

* * *

He shivers against the cold, wrapping his jacket tighter against himself. He considers placing a Warming Charm on himself, but decides against it. He just knows Lily is going to show up, soon.

He's been sitting in this same corner for three days now. He's already spotted a few of their co-workers as they walk past him on their way to the Ministry and he knows they've seen _him_, by the way they kept throwing curious glances at him over their shoulders. It's only a matter of time.

"Here you go, son," a voice says and Teddy looks up to see a man of about sixty, throwing a handful of Muggle coins at his feet.

Teddy sighs, picking them up and handing them back to him. "I don't need your money, sir."

The man looks at him in bewilderment. "If you don't need money, then what in God's name are you doing out here, lad?"

Teddy shrugs. "I'm not broke, I'm just a broken-hearted man."

"That still doesn't explain why you're out here, lad."

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Out here? In the cold? Why not go to her house, son?"

"She wants nothing to do with me."

"Perhaps if you try talking to her," the man offers.

Teddy sighs. "I know it makes no sense, but what else can I do? She won't listen to me."

"Perhaps it's time you move on then, lad. Take it from a man who has done his share of living. There are other pretty girls out there."

But, how can Teddy move on, when he's still in love with _her_?

* * *

_**October 2024**_

_Teddy sighed, pushing the door of his empty flat open. He kicked his shoes off as he tossed his keys onto the small coffee table next to the door, before flicking on the light almost jumping out of his own skin as he spotted the redheaded woman sitting in his couch, paging through a copy of Witch-Weekly._

"_Oh, hello, Ted. You're home," she said, as if it were completely natural that she should be sitting in his sitting room._

"_Lily-I-what are you doing here?" Teddy managed to stammer out and Lily grinned as she tossed the magazine aside._

"_I came to talk," she said, patting the empty seat next to her, but Teddy stayed where he was, still surprised._

"_How did you get in here?"_

_She shrugged. "I Apparated here. Honestly, Ted, for someone who works for the Auror Department, you don't have much protection around your house." _

_Teddy opened his mouth to respond, when a quick movement at the base of her neck caught his eye. He narrowed his eyes as he stepped closer to Lily, pushing her hair away from her neck. A red and gold dragon moved lazily beneath his surprised gaze, stretching its wings and yawning, causing a slip of gold fire to fly from its mouth._

"_You have a tattoo?" Teddy asked incredulously as he let go of her hair, taking a step back from her. _

_Lily nodded sheepishly as she placed a finger to it. "Yeah, Rosie convinced me to get one. She said she couldn't do it alone."_

_This surprised Teddy, because for as long as he had known Rose Weasley, she had been a bit of a prude._

"_Rose has one too?"_

_Lily laughed at his bewildered expression. "Of course she does, Ted. But she got hers in the shape of a scorpion and I think you know why."_

"_But-Lily-a tattoo?"_

"_Honestly, Teddy, I don't know why it surprises you. We're not little anymore."_

_And that was the problem, wasn't it? She wasn't little anymore. Teddy couldn't keep making up excuses._

_"Yeah, I guess you're not," he said as he crossed the room and walked into the kitchen, pulling two beers out of his fridge, offering one to Lily as he took a seat next to her. "When did you grow up so much?"_

"_Around the time you were busy running around trying to get yourself killed," she said, her voice even and Teddy sighed._

"_Why a dragon, though?" he asked, changing the subject as he inspected her tattoo closer. "And-are those Gryffindor colours? I thought it'd be more, you know—"_

"_Slytherin?" Lily laughed. "Yeah, you'd think. The dragon is because, well, I love dragons. And the colours, well…"_

"_For your family?" he guessed, and she shook her head._

"_No. I didn't choose them just because my whole family has been in Gryffindor, Ted. How unoriginal would that be?"_

"_A friend?" Teddy asked and again Lily shook her head._

"_Not a friend, no. More than that."_

"_A boyfriend, then?" Teddy asked, the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth._

_Lily smiled, her soft breath caressing his face and Teddy was surprised at how close they had gotten. _

"_Not quite," she whispered and, before he knew it, her lips were on his._

_Teddy didn't know who had made the first move, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Lily was here and she was his for the moment, however briefly. Teddy leaned forward in his seat, taking Lily down with him as his arms wrapped around her, her hands working their way through his hair. He took in her taste, masked beneath minty toothpaste and the vague traces of beer on her lips._

_She moaned against his lips and that small noise was all it took to bring him crashing back down to reality._

_Teddy pulled away hastily, standing from his seat as he strode to his window, trying to take in deep, calming breaths._

"_Shit," he muttered as he worked his hands through his hair, which was now a deep orange. _

"_Teddy," Lily whispered behind him and Teddy spun around, his eyes meeting hers._

"_Lil, I'm sorry. This shouldn't have— He stopped as her eyes flashed dangerously, daring him to finish that sentence. "This is wrong, Lily. This is so bloody wrong," he said, gripping his hair again as he turned away from her_

"_How is it wrong, Ted? How the hell is this wrong?" she asked, her voice quivering at the end and Teddy could tell it was taking all her willpower to keep calm._

"_You're like my little sister, Lily! And I'm too old for you—it isn't right."_

"_I wonder if people thought that, too, when they found out about your parents," she said quietly and Teddy sighed, pressing his head against the window's cool glass._

"_This is different, Lily. You're like my sister. You grew up with me—your father is my godfather! I can't want you," he said, whispering the last words, half-hoping that Lily hadn't heard them. _

"_But you do," she said softly, her arms wrapping around his waist. "Is that why you have been avoiding me? Is that—is that why you left to Brazil?"_

_Teddy sighed, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yeah. I've tried to ignore this feeling for so long and I thought I'd finally managed it. But then I see you again—do you know how hard it is to stop myself from kissing you every time I lay eyes on you?"_

_He laughed a little and he could feel Lily grinning against his back._

"_Actually, I do, Ted," Lily said as she let go of him and Teddy spun around to face her. "Because it's the same way I feel whenever I see you."_

_Teddy sighed. "But why? I'm so old."_

_Lily shrugged. "Maybe you are. But, in love, age never matters, really," she said, before reaching up to kiss him. _

_And this time, Teddy doesn't pull away._

* * *

Harry stops by on the sixth day and at first, Teddy can't believe what he's seeing. He's sure it's just a trick of the light making him think that his godfather is standing in front of him.

Harry says nothing as he takes a seat next to Teddy, handing him a cup of coffee and a croissant. Teddy doesn't bother to tell him that Mrs Jennings, the owner of the café, has already fed him as he takes them from his godfather's outstretched hands.

For a while, neither of them say anything as Harry looks out in the distance and Teddy stares down at his hands.

"Do you think I should have seen it coming? Should have known what was going on?" Harry asks finally and Teddy sighs.

"Harry, I'm sorry, I—" Teddy begins, but Harry cuts him off.

"Don't even bother. I already know why neither of you told me anything." Harry pauses, turning to observe his godson.

Teddy drops his gaze, staring at the coffee in his hands. "I'm sorry, Harry. I know it's wrong and I know I shouldn't, but I love her." He sighs, looking out in the distance. "I love your daughter."

Harry laughs, taking Teddy by surprise. "I approve of it, you know. I was shocked at first, yeah, but deep down, I always knew it was bound to happen. Don't forget that I raised you both." He places a hand on his shoulder, giving Teddy a smile he can't quite decipher. "You really are your father's son."

* * *

A week has passed, but still no Lily.

"Son, you can't stay here," a Muggle official approaches him.

Teddy sighs. "I can't leave. There's someone I'm waiting for. Even if I have to wait a day, a month, or a year, I'm not moving."

"You're not moving?" he repeats.

"No. If she changes her mind about us, this is the first place she will go."

The officer looks at him, considering his answer for a moment. A small smile appears on his lips as he pats Teddy's shoulder in understanding.

"I'm sure she'll come, son."

* * *

The reporters appeared somewhere around the second week—most of them are Muggles, but he's surprised when a handful of Wizard Reporters make their appearance, too—that blasted Skeeter among them.

Apparently, the whole of the Wizarding World has caught wind of 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' that is quickly becoming quite popular amongst the Muggles.

He ignores them, ignores their questions and he feels grateful when the Muggle officials appear, scattering them away, until only a few curious onlookers are left.

People started gathering around him somewhere during the third day, some encouraging him on, while others scoffed at how ridiculously stubborn he was being.

But Teddy didn't care. His stubbornness is what had gotten him here in the first place and perhaps, it would be the very thing that would get him out of this mess as well.

* * *

_**October 2025**_

"_Ted, is there something you want to tell me?" Lily asked._

_Teddy turned his attention away from the window, to look at her. They were having dinner in his house, like they had almost every night since he and Lily had agreed to give their relationship a try. _

_He had been quiet most of the night, lost in thought._

"_Is it because I suggested we tell my parents?" Lily asked quietly. _

_Teddy sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea to tell them yet, Lil."_

"_But why, Ted?" Lily asked, her voice laced in frustration. "We've been dating for a bloody year. Don't you think it's about time we tell them?" Lily paused, observing him under that piercing gaze of hers that made Teddy feel like if she were looking deep into his soul. "Are you-are you having second thoughts, Ted?" she asked, her voice more than a whisper._

_Teddy said nothing as he dropped his gaze. He heard Lily sigh._

"_I can't do this anymore, Ted."_

"_Yeah, neither can I."_

_This seemed to catch her attention and she approached him slowly, searching his face._

"_What are you saying, Ted?" she asked, a tinge of fear in her voice._

_Teddy said nothing as he turned away from her, not wanting to see her reaction. _

_"What are you saying, Ted?" she asked again._

"_I'm saying that I think we need a break."_

_There was a brief silence and he turned to find himself staring at a stunned Lily, whose face was a mixture of anger, disappointment and disbelief. _

_And then, before he can react, Lily slapped him hard across the face, before Disapparating with a loud crack, leaving Teddy to stare stupidly at the place where she had been standing, trying to ignore the stinging sensation in his cheek and the feeling of bitter regret in his heart._

* * *

The days had slowly turned into weeks, and the weeks turned to a _month_, then two and still no Lily.

James, Albus, Rose, Hugo, Ginny, even Scorpius had been down to visit him at least twice, but Lily hadn't bothered to come any of those times.

They try to get him to come home, but Teddy remains as stubborn as ever. He sends them away, with only one message: 'when you see her, tell her where I am. Tell her that I'm waiting for her, in the corner of our street'.

* * *

As he reaches the end of the second month, Teddy feels himself starting to lose hope. He considers packing up his stuff and leaving, but he knows he can't; he loves her too much. He closes his eyes briefly against the setting sun, burying his head in his hands as he lays down in his sleeping bag.

When he opens his eyes again, it's dark, probably around two in the morning and there's nobody there. Or at least that's what he thinks.

"I don't know if I should be angry, flattered, happy, or incredibly mortified," a voice whispers in his ear, making him jump.

Slowly, Teddy turns to the source of the soft, feminine voice.

He feels as if he must be dreaming or at least hallucinating from the lack of proper food, because there is no way that Lily Potter is standing in front of him, looking as beautiful as ever.

"Lily?" he manages to choke out and she smiles, that half-smile he loves so much.

"Were you expecting anyone else?"

Teddy rises from his seat, reaching out to touch her, to make sure she really is there and she's not just another one of his hallucinations. His calloused hands touch her soft skin and, before she can react, he bends down to capture her lips in his. He can feel her smile as she returns his kiss, her hands snaking around his neck as she presses her body against his.

"You big dolt, Teddy Lupin," Lily says as she pulls back for air.

Teddy smiles, pressing his forehead against hers. "I've missed you, Lil."

"I've missed you too, Teddy," she says, sighing contentedly.

"What took you so long?" Teddy asks and Lily smirks.

"Well, at first it was because I had no idea of this little stunt you were pulling. Imagine my surprise when I come home from being at Uncle Charlie's, only to have your face looking up at me from _all_ the newspapers, even the Muggle ones."

This catches Teddy off-guard. "You were at Charlie's?" he asks.

Lily laughs. "Yeah, I was there for about a month. You should make sure I'll be around next time you decide to blackmail me into coming to you," she says, reaching up to kiss his lips lightly.

Teddy smiles, until he realises what she has said.

"Wait, you were gone one month? I've been out here for _two_ whole months."

Again, Lily laughs. "Yes, but like I said, I didn't know what to think, Ted. I left, thinking you didn't love me anymore, only to come back and find you that you were waiting for me, in this corner, no less."

Teddy smiles. "It's our corner, remember?" he says and Lily grins. "What made you change your mind then?"

She considers his question for a moment. "Well, it had been coming around for a while now, but I still couldn't work up the courage to come. But then I received two visits."

"Yeah? From who?"

"Well, Rosie was one of them."

"What did she tell you?"

"Well, you know Rosie. She yelled at me for about an hour straight. Typical Weasley temper; doesn't help that she inherited her mum's temper as well. Kept telling me that it was the most romantic thing she ever heard of and I was being a right idiot by being so stubborn."

"And who was the other one?"

"Vic."

Teddy frowns. "Victoire?"

Lily nods. "Yeah, she showed up about five minutes after Rose left, demanding to know what I was still waiting for. She said you hadn't done more than blink when _she_ left you and if you were doing this, then it must mean that you actually did love me."

Teddy laughed softly. "I bet she must have been a sight, shouting at you in all her Veela glory."

Lily snorted. "Tell me about it. She threatened to, and I quote, 'deliver this child right in front of you if you don't get your bloody arse to that ruddy corner in the next five minutes'," she said, her voice a perfect imitation of the shrilly tone Victoire adopted when she was angry.

Teddy chuckles as he presses a soft kiss against Lily's temple.

"I'll have to thank her."

"You might want to wait for that, though. I had to drop her off at St Mungo's before coming here," she says, resting her head against his shoulder.

They stay like that for a brief moment, enjoying the feel of having one another in their arms' again. Teddy thanks whatever force is out there, for having his Lily return to him.

"I love you, Lily," he says, pressing a kiss to her hair.

Lily smiles as she pulls away. "I love you, too, Ted," she says, grabbing his hand in hers. "Let's go home."

Teddy nods a smile spreading across his features; he can just imagine the headlines tomorrow:

**_The Man Has Finally Moved_**.

* * *

_**A/N:** I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sure I'd have let Teddy get off that easily if I were Lily. I'd at least have wacked him on the head with a newspaper or something. Or hexed him. Yeah, definitely hexed him. lol_

_~SirEvie~_


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